Number 1: THE GUNBUGGY

John's gunbuggy was purchased from a farmer near Wangaratta in October 1998. It was fairly complete but had front mudguard damage and some rear damage as well. During 1999 the restoration process was begun. The front panel was fixed with aluminium welding. The firewall was rusty and it was repaired. The seats needed refurbishing and a work friend helped him out on that task. The front windscreens presented a problem. A friend in Sydney measured the originals on a Gunbuggy and posted him the details. The windows and frames were handmade to size. That took a lot of time and was very fiddly... and then -a short while later- by sheer good luck John acquired a new factory made set in Melbourne.

The Gunbuggy's engine and transmission were okay and just needed servicing. The carby was completely rebuilt and Auscam paint refreshed. The Gunbuggy was finished and ready for VMVC parades and shows during 2000... but it had a big hole on the back where a Springfield M40A1 106mm Recoilless Rifle was supposed to sit... so John started the search for the missing anti-tank gun and the 3 pointed gun mount. It took a year to find the gun (yes Virginia - he found a scrapped ex-Army gun which was irrevocably disabled) and he is very happy to have it; and until March 2002 he was looking for the gun mount which has a wheel at the front and two 'legs' at the rear. Even though they are a rare as hens teeth, he finally located one. And it didn't take years...

If John can find one of these impossible to get bits, a real mount and a real gun, it goes to prove that any REMLR member should be able to find any rare bit for any model IF they look long and hard enough. Congrats to JB!